It’s a good thing that Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre isn’t the general manager of the Canadiens.

You might recall that Coderre wanted to give the struggling David Desharnais a one-way ticket to Hamilton last month.

But Desharnais has turned his game around and he proved his worth once again Wednesday night as the Canadiens edged the New Jersey 4-3 in a shootout.

Desharnais sent the game into overtime when he scored at 19:23 and then he scored the winning goal in the shootout. The Canadiens have points in each of their last eight games (7-0-1) and Desharnais has three goals and six assists in that streak

His late goal, which survived a video review to confirm that his stick was below the crossbar when he deflected a shot by Brian Gionta, capped a see-saw third period saw the Canadiens come from behind twice after leading 1-0 after two periods.

“It was a little bit back and forth,” Desharnais said. “They had to open up and they took the lead and then we had to open up. It was all over the place.”

It appeared that the Devils were on their way to victory when Patrik Elias scored at 18:54 but Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said his team never quit.

“I’m sure both coaches were not expecting that because you have two structured teams,” Therrien said of the wide-open third period. “It opened up. There were some mental mistakes on our part but even when they got that goal late in the third, the fellows on the bench still believed that we had a chance.”

“That’s what I like about our team, it’s 3-2, it’s 2-1, but we don’t panic,” Desharnais said. “We’re finding ways to win. We’re not playing our best hockey but we’re winning.”

Nobody was concerned when Desharnais’s tying goal was reviewed.

“I was sure it was good because I tipped one earlier this year that was even higher than that,” said the 5-foot-7 Desharnais who has to raise his arms pretty high to get them over the crossbar.

“There some strange bounces out there and then you had Davey with his stick but that’s the way it is hockey and you just have to stay the course,” said goaltender Peter Budaj, who ran his record to 5-1-1.

Budaj said he had just reached the bench when Desharnais tied the score.

“I had just closed the door all of a sudden, (Carey Price) yelled and I knew we had scored,” Budaj said.

While Desharnais has only three goals on the season and is known primarily as a playmaker, he is Therrien’s go-to guy in shootouts. He is 3-for-3 on the season and he has two game-winners.

“I just go in there,” Desharnais said. “Devils goaltender Cory Schneider opened up his leg and my shot was there.”

The Canadiens are 2-3 in shootouts this season. They scored on their first two shots by Lars Eller and David Desharnais. Reid Boucher, who was playing his first NHL game, matched Eller’s goal but Budaj stopped Travis Zajac and Elias.

The Devils are 0-5 in shootouts and have lost nine in a row over two seasons. Boucher became the first New Jersey player to score in a shootout this season. Their shooters are 1-for-17.

“I don’t pay too much attention to stats like that because then I think too much,” Budaj said. “I got in trouble in Washington last year. Now I just focus on a one-on-one battle, me against the shooter.”